This week’s interview is with none other than the venerable Craig Wilkins. Craig is one of the country’s leading scholars on African-Americans in architecture, and he’s an academic, activist, and author. He can now add one more “A” to his long list of titles — award winner!

I spoke with Craig fresh off his National Design Awards win, and we talked about a number of things — his love for Detroit, what made him get involved in architecture, where he sees design education in the future, why design organizations struggle with diversity, and more. It’s a far-reaching conversation that I think you’ll enjoy regardless of your design discipline. Enough from me though…press play and enjoy the interview!

To cap off the month, I’m talking with full-stack designer Denise Nicole Francis. Her journey into the world of the Web by way of architecture and fashion design might sound a little odd, but she’s picked up some serious skills along the way, including studying under design great Massimo Vignelli!

We talked about the work she’s doing at General Assembly, discussed some of her design inspirations, and she shared how she ended up as creative director for a Grammy Award-winning artist! Denise’s positive attitude and sunny outlook on life is definitely an inspiration. Big thanks to Jarrett Coger for the introduction!

This episode is sponsored by:

Companies are looking for you. We’re here to connect you with them! Jopwell is changing the face of recruiting for Black, Latino / Hispanic and Native American students and professionals. Companies hiring from the Jopwell platform span a range of industries and include Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy, Square, BuzzFeed, McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs and many others – and they’re all looking for talented designers and developers!

If there’s one word that I would use to describe Pamela Assogba, it would be ambitious! Originally from Dakar, Senegal, Pamela’s love for knowledge brought her here to Washington, DC, and she studied architecture and fashion design before settling into web development. Now, she’s a full-stack engineer for Vox Media and an instructor for General Assembly teaching courses on front-end web development.

We talked about the lessons she’s learned since becoming a web developer, what keeps her motivated and inspired, the state of diversity in the tech industry, and some insight into the tech scene in Dakar. Pamela also had some great advice for new coders — have fun with it! (I totally agree.) Without further ado, here’s Pamela! Enjoy!

This episode is sponsored by:

Companies are looking for you. We’re here to connect you with them! Jopwell is changing the face of recruiting for Black, Latino / Hispanic and Native American students and professionals. Companies hiring from the Jopwell platform span a range of industries and include Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy, Square, BuzzFeed, McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs and many others – and they’re all looking for talented designers and developers!